Homeopathy and Conventional
(Allopathic) Medicine

Conventional Western, or Allopathic, medicine has achieved significant
leaps in preserving both the quality and longevity of life,
and it is important to recognise this contribution. A world wide vaccination program by the WHO has eradicated smallpox; insulin has enabled many type I diabetics to control their condition; antibiotics, though not without their own problems, can render potentialy lethal infections harmless.

There are many homeopaths who frown on the entire spectum of allopathic medicine, though in practice, a more balanced approach is often more effective. It is unwise, for example, for an insulin dependent diabetic to discontinue their insulin.

However,
conventional medicine is a wide label, and not all conventional
medicine is beneficial. While in many cases symptoms are relieved, cured, or prevented
many allopathic medicines can do a lot of harm to your body.

The symptoms of a disease, for a Homeopath, are your body's
attempt to cure itself. By contrast, conventional medicine often
works by suppressing your body's natural reactions. For example:

A cough is usually the result of foreign bodies in the lungs;
the muscles spasm in an attempt to remove it. Cough medicine
simply stops this reflex.

A headache tablet is a painkiller and simply suppresses
the feeling of pain, leaving the body to undergo whatever
torment it was before, but divorced from our consciousness.
This is a very bad thing. For example, many headaches are
due to dehydration - once the headache isn't felt, the patient
no longer feels the need to stop running around, working up
a sweat and dehydrating further.

The conventional approach to treating bacterial infections is antibiotics.
Antibiotics are simply a group of molds that eat bacteria. Our body also has bacteria
that serve the same function (indeed, there are many types
of beneficial bacteria naturally occurring in the body) alas these are also consumed by antibiotics.
In addition, a widespread concern is that bacteria are becoming
resistant to antibiotics. This is a very serious trend, and antibiotics shoudl surely be used only ont he most serious cases.

Antidepressants generally work by blocking emotional responses.
Unlike homeopathic remedies, dependence builds up quickly,
and once a course of antidepressants has begun, it is often
a step down a long, slippery slope to dependency.

Conventional medicine is a very blunt instrument. Part of its
success lies in this very general nature. The sheer number of
possible factors that need to be considered for effective treatment
with homeopathic remedies have meant that it has required a
long, and often expensive consultation with a trained specialist.
In contrast, regardless of the type of pain, or even where it
is, the conventional relief is a pain killer. Compare that to
homeopathy - in our remedy finder database, we describe nearly
5,000 types of headaches.

Despite the best efforts of pharmaceutical companies, the
research into medicines and their side effects is often woefully
inadequate. The most famous case of this is thalidomide - a
drug prescribed for morning sickness, which produced severe
birth defects. More recent controversies include Seroxat,
an antidepressant which, though benficial for some, has been
linked to addiction, suicide, self harm, and aggressive behaviour
in some people.

Despite the potentially damaging side effects of conventional medicine,
sadly, prescription medicines are without benefit for most people
that take them. (source: Allen Roses, a Vice
President of Glaxo SmithKline: one of the worlds largest drug
producers.)

Homeopathy does not work in the same way; how it does work
remains a mystery. Chemists have concluded that in the very
high homeopathic potencies there is actually none of the original
substance left. Theories explaining homeopathy have been put
forward, resting on vibrations, electromagnetism, or the memory
of water.

However, is it not fitting that your body, a miracle way beyond
understanding, can be cured by something which is also out of
the reach of your rational mind?